Between the International Dance Music Awards and the Club World Awards, there simply weren't enough awards given out for dance music in the month of March in Miami - so, I figured the best way to do a wrapup of the insane week was to do my own.
Song of the conference:
After attending 6 days of parties and much discussion with DJs,
artists, clubgoers, music lovers and site writers, the consensus is
that there wasn't a clear song of the conference. Everyone seemed to
have their own song that defined the week - whether it was Richard
Vission dropping his white label of Guns and Roses at Juicy, Richie
Santana banging his track "Mindcontrol," or the front of trance DJs
who powered the Cosmic Gate "Analog Feel" record. With that said,
here are twenty records that defined my WMC 2007.
Barbara Tucker - "Love Vibration"
Bonnie Bailey "Kingdom of Pretty" (Bassmonkeys Remix)
Brittaney Star "I Wanna F**k the DJ" (Worthington Keats Mix)
Chocolate Puma "Another Day"
Christina Aguilera "Candyman" (Offer Nissim Mix)
Chris Lake featuring Laura V "Changes"
Chris Willis "Freedom" (Beatfreakz/Public Enemy remix)
Cosmic Gate "Analog Feel"
Dubfire - "I Feel Speed"
Erika Jayne "Rollercoaster"
Guns n Roses "Sweet Child Of Mine" (Richard Vission Mix)
Ira Levi "Let the Children Dance"
Jacinta "Can't Keep It a Secret"
Jason Antone "Be Free"
Katherine McPhee "Over It" (Funk Generation aka Mike Rizzo and Chico)
Kristine W "The Boss" (Tracy Young Mix)
Loni Clark "Rushing" (Alix Alvarez)
Mitch Matlock "Everything"
Richie Santana "Mindcontrol"
Robbie Rivera "Float Away" (Dubfire Remix)
September "Cry For You"
SeSa "Bonstair" (the song sampling DeeLite "Groove is in the Heart")
Starchasers "West End Girls" (Instrumental)
Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell & Laidback Luke "Get Dumb"
Stonebridge featuring Erire "SOS"
Tiesto featuring Jes "Everything"
Tila Tequila "I Love U" (Zeomix)
Todd Terry "Sunday Morning"
Best Party:
Erika Jayne party at the Setai. Hosted by Suzanne Bartsch, the
extravagant event was probably the best-produced party I had ever
attended in Miami. Entering the courtyard and you are greeted by
Amanda Lepore applying suntan lotion in a bathtub floating in a pool.
Also in the pool is a massive inflatable dinosaur being used as a
projection screen and hundreds of flashing rubber duckies. The
dancefloor was full with a mixed party crowd enjoying the music of DJ
Sammy Jo (tour DJ for the Scissor Sisters). His upbeat and fun set
featured everything from remixes of 80s classics to hot tech-house.
The crowd was feeling him. A second pool showcased a huge set with
multiple circus freaks (aka club kids) posing, inflating musical
instruments, throwing toys at the crowd and engaging in other, erm,
decadent behavior. Random performances including a nearly-nude dancer
emerging from a lifesize balloon and a transgendered midget stripping
made the night even more special. DJ Eric Kupper closed the party,
making it one of the rare events that I stayed at until closing.
Best Club:
Y Ultra Lounge. Opened only three months ago, the ultimate lounge
pulled in major parties with Renaissance, Om, Star 69, and even a late night unannounced Tiesto set. Its easy to see why Tiesto has found a new home in Miami, the $30 million dollar club has set a new standard for clubs - walking through the waterfall at the front door you immediately notice the decadent yet classy layout. With two beautiful outdoor spaces and three dance rooms, the sound immediately attracts you - a full clean sound that is rich but not overpowering. Also rich is the incredible architecture and decor - a million dollar Chihuly glass chandelier, a wall of onyx, Murano glass fixtures, beautiful furniture - this is truly a superpremium club. The staff is truly friendly - with a staff member every ten feet, willing to assist with whatever you need. I had never been in a club like this ever before and the same sentiment was shared by everyone else who attended.
(Close seconds)Tommy Boy Sunset Sessions at Victor. Def Mix at Shine. Kinky Malinki at Blue.
Worst Club:
Suite. An incomptetent and rude door staff kills any club - a totally FLAWed setup.
Best DJ Set:
David Guetta - F**k Me I'm Famous. Its easy to look past the
unpleasant door staff and confusing redesign of Cameo when David
Guetta has people packed in and sweating on the dancefloor. Just
hearing him bang "Tainted Love" with the crowd screaming for more is
enough to take you over the edge. Having Chris Willis appear out of
thin air to sing "Love Don't Let Me Go" to the crowd screaming the
lyrics was the cherry on top. Watch for the US release of his artist
album coming any minute now.
(Close seconds) Tiesto at Mansion. Ron Carroll at Funktion. Bob Sinclar at Victor. Richard Vission at Juicy.
Best good deed:
BT and the driver's license. Leaving Mansion where Tiesto was playing a banging set, I witnessed BT do an amazingly good deed. He found a driver's license on the ground (it was flipped over - only showing the magnetic strip). He reached into the gunky street water - picked up the license and called the owner to retrieve the license. Most other people would have walked away, but he cared enough to help the poor guy out. I can imagine being on the other side of the call - freaked out after losing my license in Miami and getting a call from BT, "Hey, I got your license."